His lineage no longer matters. Zach Parise made his case to make the Devils on his own merit.

The son of ex-Islander hero J.P. Parise has impressed the way the Devils need most. He’s scored and looks capable of scoring more.

And he scored in preseason in the time-honored way, by going to the net.

“That’s where the goals are scored,” Parise said simply.

He refines that a bit, though. As he goes to the net, he times his arrival to coincide with anticipated opportunity – a rebound, a fumble, an incoming pass. He shows up at opportune moments.

“That’s just something I was taught, that you want to get there at the right time. You don’t want to get there too fast,” Parise said. “This game is all about timing.”

The brass apparently didn’t need to see any more to make their decision, as he sat out last night as the Rangers and Devils closed their exhibitions seasons at the Garden.

The Devils opportunistically traded up to take Parise 17th overall in the 2003 draft. He left the University of North Dakota after his sophomore season to sign with New Jersey, but went untried by Pat Burns in the Devils’ five-game ouster by Philly in those playoffs. He spent last season in Albany, going 18-40-58, second most points on the team.

He had a goal in each of his first two NHL preseason games, and looked like a candidate someday to give the Devils a dimension they’ve been lacking. They haven’t had a 40-goal scorer since Patrik Elias and Alex Mogilny each cracked that figure in 2000-01.

The Flyers gave him a stick-work welcome to the NHL in Friday’s 5-3 Devil victory at the Meadowlands, leaving him cut over the lip.

“A couple times, I guess,” he said of the rookie attention. “It was worse last year [in Albany].”

His net-hunting isn’t just adage-following. He has a reason.

“There are an awful lot of butterfly goalies now. They stop the first shots but they leave rebounds. That’s why you have to go to the front of the net,” Parise said.

“Anybody can see his energy when he’s on the ice,” Larry Robinson said. “He’s always arond the puck. It would be hard to [demote him] based on his play so far. He deserves to be here, yes.”

If Robinson’s evaluation holds sway, this could be the start of a career to remember.

*

Rangers trimmed roster to 26 by sending F Chad Wiseman and D Thomas Pock to Hartford yesterday . . . Groundbreaking is today for Newark Arena . . . Devils are expected to open season without a captain, using three alternates instead . . . Devils open Wednesday playing host to Sidney Crosby and Penguins while Rangers start in Philly that night.